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HARRISBURG - More than half of the 30 lawmakers who represent Northeast Pennsylvania in Harrisburg collected nearly $200,000 in fiscal 2011-12 through per diems - tax-free daily allowances that require no documentation of how the money is spent.

Nine of the region's representatives each collected more in per diems than the House majority leader, a Sunday Times analysis revealed.

As a whole, state lawmakers collected more than $2 million in per diems for food and lodging expenses that year. Legal but controversial, the payments are in addition to a lawmaker's annual base salary - $82,026 in 2012 and $83,802 this year.

The purpose of per diems is to reimburse lawmakers for lodging and meals incurred while being away from home at the Capitol or attending a committee meeting in other parts of the state. The Internal Revenue Service has issued a rule saying a lawmaker's district is his or her "tax home", making trips to the Capitol a business expense.

The IRS sets maximum per diem rates for lodging and meals in various cities. The maximum Harrisburg rate was at $163 and $160 during fiscal 2011-12, but individual lawmakers don't always claim the full amount and some seek reimbursement for money spent on lodging or meals.

Many lawmakers abuse per diems and more accountability for this spending is needed in the form of an independent review, said Capitol activist Eric Epstein, cofounder of RocktheCapital.com.

"What is distressing is the gap between per diem requests for legislators who reside and represent districts in close proximity," said Mr. Epstein. "There is no objective standard that explains why Rep. A requires more per diems than Rep. B. And, there is no connection between increased compensation and better legislation."

Lawmakers say per diem spending is down since the legislative pay raise controversy eight years ago. A number of lawmakers pledged while campaigning for office not to take them and have opted to submit expense receipts for lodging and meals instead.

House per diems totaled $1.9 million and Senate per diems totaled $270,000 during fiscal 2011-12, according to a Right-to-Know request filed by the newspaper with the House and Senate chief clerk's offices.

House per diems ranged from a high of $31,166 to $203. Senate per diems ranged from a high of $17,132 to $1,158. Seventeen of the 30-member Northeast Pennsylvania delegation collected per diems in fiscal 2011-12, according to records.

The three new House lawmakers representing Lackawanna County since January - Reps. Marty Flynn, D-113, Scranton; Frank Farina, D-115, Jessup; and Kevin Haggerty, D-112, Dunmore, - said they submit expense receipts for reimbursements.

Mr. Turzai's leadership post means more time spent on administrative duties in Harrisburg. Mr. Turzai has sought to rein in his per diem spending by not taking reimbursement for meals on nights where the caucus picks up the tab or he attends a dinner function, said his spokesman Stephen Miskin.

Ms. Pickett had the highest per diem total of regional lawmakers at $18,507 and Mr. Tobash, who mainly submitted $50 meal reimbursements, had the lowest, $1,417.Ms. Pickett said the per diems reflect her membership on the House Appropriations Committee that year.

"I felt if I'm on that committee I need to be there," added Ms. Pickett. "That's going to affect your per diems."

Ms. Pickett collected nearly $1,400 during committee hearings in February and March 2012.

Per diems amounts can vary depending on whether a lawmaker heads a committee or sits on a committee that meets more frequently, such as Appropriations or Judiciary. Other factors include whether a lawmaker stayed overnight because of the driving distance from Harrisburg or the site of a committee meeting.

During fiscal 2011-12, Mr. Pashinski sat on the House Democratic Policy Committee which held hearings across the state often during the summer recess on hot-button issues like education funding.

"The variable is the distance you are traveling," Mr. Pashinski said.

Ms. Boscola headed the Senate Democratic Policy Committee and sat on the appropriations panel during this period. She said those duties meant somewhat higher per diems for her. Senate records show Ms. Boscola collected lodging per diems for policy committee hearings in Pittsburgh, for example.

Lawmakers who rack up per diems in the $30,000 range give the practice a bad name, Ms. Boscola said.

"We are painted with the same brush," she said.

Mr. Scavello said he puts his per diems in a special bank account and donates them to nonprofits in the Poconos. A March 5 letter from the Pocono Alliance indicates that Mr. Scavello donated $3,000 in 2012 to its Heat Security Program for individuals in need of fuel assistance, for example. The Alliance decides who gets heating assistance with that money, Mr. Scavello said.

The lawmaker showed a $482.85 check from that bank account on Feb. 18 to Liberty Discount Fuel in Bartonsville for its heating assistance program. Mr. Scavello said he would support ending per diems if it came to a vote, but absent that he prefers to distribute the per diems in the Poconos. He said he doesn't write off these donations as a charitable tax deduction.

Mr. Epstein said this practice is a slippery slope, since it could prompt others to donate per diems to their pet causes, such as abortion control or gun control.

"Per diems are not designed as a revenue stream for legislators' projects," he said. "Per diems were specifically designed to offset the expenses of lawmakers doing their job."

Mr. Argall drew criticism from Capitol activists during a 2010 congressional campaign for collecting annual per diems in the $10,000 range. His $6,956 per diem amount for fiscal 2011-12 is second-lowest among Northeast Pennsylvania lawmakers. Mr. Argall said he cut lodging expenses by renting a Harrisburg apartment with a cheaper lease and submitted per diems at the lesser amounts of $157 and $159, according to Senate records. Two area lawmakers are seeking to make their expense spending more transparent to the public.

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